With Christmas and the New Year slipping away into history, I thought that it was about time that I reported on our progress over here in Australia, as new residents and in my case as a pigeon fancier. I must say that the season is nowhere as 'Chrismassy' as we have been able to expect in England and of course, how can it be with warmth and light evenings. There are Christmas decorations to be found but compared to British towns and cities it is all quite laid-back.
Christmas Day proved to be very hot and we might have gone for a swim in the sea in the morning but instead opted for church and swam in the pool in the afternoon. Our son and his family came across for a fairly traditional turkey Christmas dinner with all the usual trimmings and we went to their house on Boxing Day.
As I say, Christmas Day is quite different with many businesses remaining open and the real eye-opener was in our local hotel at Mornington. This hotel houses a gambling section (Tabaret - with gambling machines - pokies) and when we went for a meal on Christmas Eve, saw a notice proclaiming that the Tabaret would be open at 8am the following morning until 4am on Boxing Day and this was the pattern over the holiday period.
It reminded me of when we spent Christmas over here for the Millennium and the day before Christmas Eve took a coach tour of the Great Ocean Road. We ended our trip at a beautiful little resort where we bought ice creams and talking to the lady who served us, mentioned that at least she would be able to enjoy a break. Not so she told us for on Christmas Day, fifteen coaches were booked in
The New Year was more geared to what we might normally expect, but believe it or not, all trains, buses and trams were free from New Year's Eve afternoon until the morning or New Year's Day. This was done because the previous year thousands had been left stranded in the city of Melbourne when public transport ceased, so the decision was taken to make it free and for public transport to run throughout the night. Ann and I took advantage of the offer and travelled into the city for the atmosphere and for the famous firework display. The crowds however made it quite uncomfortable and the sheer noise had to be heard to be believed.